This CD features a selection of classical works by various composers, including Akira Ifukube's "Lauda Concertata
for Orchestra and Marimba". All of the music is performed by J.B Smith, using tuned percussion and electronics.

Joseph Schwantner's "Velocities (Moto Perpetuo) for Solo Marimba" is a virtuoso work that displays technical
intricacy, power and speed. "The Apparitions of JB" features a MalletKat percussion controller interacting with layers
of digital "ghosts". Akira Ifukube's "Lauda Concertata", originally written for marimba and orchestra, has been adapted
by Smith for soloist with electronic orchestra. Todd Winkler's "Stomping the Ground" is an interactive drum solo for
TrapKat percussion controller and computer.

Liner notes

"Velocities (Moto Perpetuo) for Solo Marimba" was commissioned by the Percussive Arts Society and funded by the
National Endowment for the Arts in a Consortium Commission for marimbists Leigh Howard Stevens, William Moersch, and
Gordon Stout. Joseph Schwantner, born in Chicago, is currently Professor of Composition at the Eastman School of Music
where he has been on the faculty since 1970. He has also served on the faculty of the Juilliard School. Schwantner
received his musical and academic training at the Chicago Conservatory and Northwestern University, completing a
doctorate in 1968.

In "The Apparitions of JB For Solo Percussion and Multiple Digital Ghosts" the solo percussion part is very virtuosic,
not only in a purely musical/technical manner, but in the technological demands it places on the soloist. The digital
ghosts in "The Apparitions of JB" are musical echoes that do not function as actual echoes. These ghosts, like their
humanoid counterparts, can do things that ordinary musical figures cannot. As a human ghost can walk through a wall,
a musical ghost can turn itself inside-out, upside-down, or it can change its speed, its range, even its timbre. For
example, something played by the human soloist might return seconds or minutes later in such an altered state that even
the soloist might not recognize it. Other ghosts, especially when alone or in small numbers, are more easily recognizable.
But when there is a whole roomful of them sounding about (sometimes one might hear up to 30 of them) even the composer
has something to fear.

"Lauda Concertata for Marimba and Orchestra" was written in 1976 for virtuoso marimbist Keiko Abe. Akira Ifukube was
born on May 31, 1914 in a small village in Hokkaido. He began his music career as a performer in the student orchestra
at school. Then, while he was in college, he became a concert master. He performed many European classical pieces, but
was drawn to Igor Stravinsky's and Manuel de Falla's music. He attributes his exposure to their music as the main reason
he became a composer. He is best known for his film scores for GODZILLA - KING OF THE MONSTERS (1954), TERROR OF
MECHAGODZILLA (1975), GODZILLA VS. MOTHRA (1992), GODZILLA VS. MECHAGODZILLA (1993). The electronic accompaniment used
for this recording was programmed by Dr. Smith. Using the Macintosh software Max, the performer controls the entrances
of the orchestral accompaniment by using a footswitch. Although the electronic accompaniment is inferior to the
orchestral setting, the portablility afforded by the computer playback system has allowed Smith to perform the piece
on tour with a hint of the original orchestration.

"Stomping the Ground" is influenced by the great tradition of American drum set playing and has its roots in African
drumming. The solo percussionist creates a kaleidoscopic weave of various drumming styles with a trapKat, an electronic
drum set controller. Using 24 electronic drum pads and pedals, the performer is able to play electronic drum sounds and
melodies by mapping the pads to notes on a synthesizer and communicate directly with the computer to generate original
music. One section features a call and response between the computer and performer, with the computer capturing and
playing back drum riffs in a new interpretation. This work explores new musical techniques made possible through the
interaction of humans and computers. The computer program allows the performer to directly influence the composition,
and in turn, they are asked to listen carefully to their digital partner so that two-way interaction is achieved.
Stomping the Ground was written for Amy Knoles. Todd Winkler began his career studying composition and electronic music
with David Cope and Gordon Mumma at U.C. Santa Cruz (BFA), Morton Subotnick and Mel Powell at CalArts (MFA), and John
Chowning and Max Mathews at Stanford University (DMA). A former faculty member of Oberlin College Conservatory and
CalArts, he is currently an assistant professor at Brown University where he teaches courses in computer music and
multimedia studies, and is director of the MacColl Studio for Electronic Music. Working at CCRMA at Stanford, and
IRCAM in Paris, Winkler pioneered new methods for integrating acoustic instruments with computer technology, writing
software that allows a computer to analyze a live performance, and create expressive music by responding intelligently
to real-time musical gestures, phrasing and tempo. His current work expands the notion of gesture analysis to include
human movement, using motion sensing devices to allow dancers creative input into computer music and multimedia systems. He has written a book based on his research, entitled Composing Interactive Music.